I saw this lotion at a local supermarket. Since I am a fan of Dove body butters body wash and as also my skin is somewhat dry in winters, I wanted to give this a try. So, Here’s my review.

About the product:

It’s true what they say – beauty starts from the inside. That is exactly why Dove essential Nourishment Body Lotion has been especially formulated to work deep down. This body lotion not only moisturizes the surface of your skin, it also delivers deep nourishment for long lasting beautifully soft and smooth skin.

I have been using this lotion for about 15 days now. As I said, I have a skin that gets drier in winters and that, combined with the salty water in our area just makes body lotions indispensible for me. I have been using the Vaseline lotion with cocoa for sometime which was good,but then my dry skin craved for some more moisture.

This lotion has a creamy consistency and gets easily spread. It smells like the plain dove soap. One tiny glob is sufficient for covering my arm. Moisturizing effect is very good (no one believes in 24 hour claim. Do we? ) The only drawback I had with this is the sticky feeling this lotion gives me when applied initially. This feeling goes off once the cream gets absorbed into the skin. The cream takes a little bit more time to get absorbed as its very thick. When I applied it for the first time I applied it in huge quantities and I ended up having the sticky feeling till afternoon.

I am a girl who hardly goes to parlous to get a face clean up done. I do it very rarely at home using the products I procure myself at the market. I have a vapourizer at my home which aids in opening pores to clear out the blackheads. I used to scrub my face with chickpea flour mixed with rose water. Feeling bored by the smell of chickpeas, I went yesterday to get myself a scrub and got them from the brand called Biotique Botanicals. The only product I have ever used from Biotique is their Kajal.

This post is going to be a review of their Bio Papaya Smoothing and Revitalizing scrub.

About the Brand:

BIOTIQUE is synonymous with serious skin and hair care developed from Ayurveda. It embodies the collection of traditions developed by the ancient sages, passed down from generation to generation. These sages, commonly known as Rishis, discovered that plants and plant extracts had startling effects on skin and hair. They understood that, in order to survive, society had to live in harmony with nature. They learned how to harness nature’s therapeutic powers [the heat of the sun, light, air, water, minerals and plant substances] to restore human beings to a state of perfect health…and agelessness.

As I told earlier, I had no experience with Biotique skin care products. So, I purchased this with open mind prepared to accept the positive and negative experiences that were supposed to come.

The product comes in a typical Biotique packing i.e., sturdy green tub with the product info’s printed in white. The pack comes with a carton box in which the product details like ingredients list and MRP are printed. The Carton box in sealed at the top and the tub is wrapped in tight plastic case. The Packing is very neat and impressive.

The product comes off with a strong raw smell that I found very appalling. I have sensitive nose and I don’t like my products to have any strong smell. The scrub is very thick & coarse so we need to dilute it a bit before applying. During the first use, I took a coin sized quantity for scrubbing my face and neck that seemed a lot of product when diluted. A little goes a long way.

The scrub is very good and removes an impressive amount of dead skin, white heads and black heads. It makes my face look so smooth and clear without the dry feeling. My skin does not feel stretchy or irritated.

The happiest point is, in spite of using this scrub in relatively large quantity during my first session, my skin did not break out or show any signs of irritation. As the granules were coarse, I was convinced that I am going to face huge breakouts. But this turned out to be a sweet surprise.

I am sure, if used regularly, I will not be having any black heads/white heads problem.

Navarathri Celebrations are keeping me very busy. Yesterday I went to an expo which featured dolls made by women self help groups. The dolls were so tempting that I shelled out what I had in my pocket and got two adorable dolls. One is of Baby Krishna getting punished by his mum and one is of Hyagreevar, a horse headed God who was Goddess Saraswathi’s Guru. I wanted to buy some more but refrained myself.

Now moving on, today’s post is going to be about a face wash which I have been using for a while. It’s the Deep Clean Facial Cleanser from Neutrogena.

In the beginning of 2012, I faced a lot of breakouts and was using a medicated soap. As my skin has returned to normalcy now, I wanted to slowly stop using the medicated soap prescribed by my derma as its quite drying and switch over to a gentle face cleanser. I tried various cleansers ranging from amway to cetaphil. Some of them, in spite of not triggering any breakouts and being good to my skin, failed to impress me. They were good but at some point of time or the other, I did not feel convinced. I continued to use the medicated soap.

I got this face wash or cleanser as they call it when I purchased the Neutrogena moisturizer. Initially I used it only at nights for washing my face and gradually started substituting it to my medicated soap. My skin loves this cleanser and is behaving very well. This cleanser is so mild to irritate or dry out my skin but is still effective enough to make me get that squeaky clean feel.

The cleanser looks mild golden yellow in the bottle and comes as a transparent liquid in hand. It’s quite runny and foams mildly. It rinses off completely and leaves a squeaky clean feel to the skin. I don’t like its fragrance though not over powering. Its smells like a medicated detergent (:P) .

I got the 50ml bottle which was priced at Rs. 95/-, as I was not sure about how it will react on my skin. The bottle is transparent and comes with a sturdy flip cap and is travel friendly.

Wet your face and hands with lukewarm water. Pump cleanser into your hands and work into lather. Massage lather onto skin with a gentle, circular motion, avoiding contact with the delicate eye area. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry with a soft towel. If you experience dryness or irritation, use less frequently.

Now summing up its pros and cons:

Pros:

Does not irritate/dry out my skin.

Gives that squeaky clean feel.

Effectively removes excess oil and dirt.

Travel friendly.

Transparent bottle is very useful in finding out the quantity left.

Pocket Friendly.

Cons:

Does not lather much. So if you are used to super foamy face washes like me, you will end up wasting more product than what’s actually required.

This post is going to be a review about the India Eye Kohl from Colorbar USA.

Like most of the South Indian Girls, I have a special place for Kohls and Kajals in my heart. I love how mysterious and pretty the dark kohled eyes look. As I was getting bit bored of the Lakme and Maybelline Kajals, I got one recently from colorbar.

This is called as the Indian Eye Kohl in Jet Black 001 and is priced at INR. 150/- for 4gm stick (earlier it was priced at INR. 125/-)

It comes in a cute silver and black box upon which the ingredient list, date of manufacture etc are mentioned.

The Kajal is smooth to apply and gives the eyes a dramatic jet black color. It is wax based and creamy, making it easy and soft to apply on the eyes, it also contains camphor, which cools the eyes while Vitamin E and castor oil keeps the skin smooth and conditioned. It is available in Black.

My Experience:

I love cosmetics that come in Boxes. I think box packing makes them look classy. And this Khol comes in a small classy silver and black box. The Khol comes in the form of a fat pencil that needs to be sharpened which is okay with me. When used, it comes as a dark matte black. This Khol is not as creamy as the Lakme satin kajal one but at the same time it’s not that hard either. It glides on smooth and due to its not so creamy nature the product getting wasted during the sharpening sessions are less compared to other Khol’s.

The staying power is okay. It stays put for 4-5 hours after which it starts to smudge. Like all Kohl’s it settles in the lash line when it smudges. Happily it does not cause raccoon eyes and does not melt like how the traditional kohl’s do. I used it in my waterline and it does not sting or cause any irritation. It does not come all over the face like the hashmi ones. But however if you have the habit of rubbing your eyes every now and then, this one’s definitely not for you. Also, it gives a mild cooling sensation when applied in the waterline which I think must be caused by the camphor in it.

Navarathri (Nine Nights) is a festival that’s celebrated predominantly in South India during which people arrange dolls of Gods and Goddesses in their homes, mostly in a seven step fashion. The first three days of Navarathri is dedicated to Matha Durga (goddess of Bravery and health), the next three days to Matha Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and Prosperity) and the last three days to Matha Saraswathi (Goddess of Knowledge and wisdom).

During those days, people (friends, neighbours and relatives) are invited to the homes and every evening special poojas are conducted and prasadams (offering) are given to the visitors. Special gifts like glass bangles, cute little boxes with kumkum and turmeric are given to women folks and girls.

The final day of Navarathri is celebrated as Dusshera in a very grand manner. It symbolizes the death or defeat of evil.

Today I am going to review one of my favorite kajal i.e., the Lakme Black Satin Kajal. It is from their Gypsy Collection and is priced at Rs. 150/-. As I have mentioned earlier, like most of the Indian Girls, I have a special place for kajals in my heart. I buy them, at many times just for the sake of experimenting.

This Kajal looks very much like the regular lakme one except for the fact that this one has the most beautiful golden floral designs printed on it. The floral designs were the one which actually drew me to pick this one at the first place. It’s a pencil type Kajal and needs to be sharpened. You need to buy the sharpener separately. I guess the lakme one costs around 65 rupees.

I have been using it on and off in addition to my Maybelline Collosal Kajal for the past couple of months and I am very much satisfied with this. When I purchased this one, I had certain preconceived notions like, all fat kajal pencils will any ways smudge and will have very short staying power etc which this kajal broke. I am not saying that this is the ultimate no smudge one, but it did stay better on my eyes when compared with the other fat kajal pencils.

I am the kind of girl who prefers fat kajal pencils over the thin ones just because the fat pencils make me feel as if I have worn kajal on my eyes. (Pretty crazy isn’t it? He he..!)

I use this to line mostly my water line only, though it can be used to line the upper and lower lash lines as well. It glides smooth on my eyes and does not sting. It stays up to 4 hours and does not create raccoon eyes. When it wears off, it somewhat disappears and mildly settles into the lower lash line. This is an added bonus for me because I prefer kajals that disappear over the ones that come all over my face because I can be sure that I will not look like a panda incase it wears off. It does lose a lot of product during the sharpening sessions but I am okay with it.

Let me now summarize the pros and cons.

Pros:

Very Black & Shiny.

Waterline safe.

Looks pretty with in black with golden designs.

Does not create raccoon eyes.

Creamy Texture and Glides on easily.

water line safe.

Cap is sturdy and can be thrown into your purse without a second thought.

Can be smudged to create a smokey look.

Stays for good 4 hours on my eyes.

Cons:

As its Creamy, lot of product gets wasted during the sharpening sessions.

The Golden thing in the back side of the kajal pencil comes off. Though this is not at all related to the kajal’s performance etc., I find it really annoying. I faced similar issue with the regular lakme kajal too.

My Preferred ways to use this Kajal:

I apply it directly in my lower waterline for casual day time look.

For making it a little bit dramatic I apply this on my lower lash line (using an eyeliner brush from Vega) and on the water line for that thick khol lined eye look.

We can also set it with a black eye shadow or apply a skin colored eyeliner on the lash line just below this khol to increase its staying power.

I also love to apply a thin line of it in my upper lash line and smudge it with my smudger.

My Verdict:

This is a definite hit for me though I prefer trying out other khol’s & kajals. I am eyeing on the lakme eyeconic one. It sounds pretty interesting with that entire 10 hour claim.

I am back with a review. This is going to be a story of how a product that was in existence for a long time in the market totally changed my life and made it simpler. Yes I am going to talk about my epilator from Panasonic.

My Story before Epilator:

I hated waxing. I hated going to parlors. I hated the way hair grew back after using razor on them. In short, I was living a horrible life. I went to the parlor near my home every month to get my legs and hands waxed. One day, the parlor lady used super duper hot wax on my hand. The wax was hot enough to make a mark on my hand. Since then I started dreading parlor visits. I slowly started depending on the razors which I had for emergency times. And at one point of time, I had to use razors weekly once to keep the hairs at bay. And, they gave me terrible in-grown hair and made my underarms dark.

Finding the Epilator:

I knew epilator as a hair removing equipment that caused immense pain and was very difficult to use. This mind set was totally changed when I read a review about the Philips epilator at a renowned blog. The lady had explained the process of using the epilator. It seemed okay enough to try as I was having terrible time using razors and visiting parlous.

I bought the Panasonic Soie ES2024 for INR 2,062/- from an e-commerce site.

About Panasonic Soie ES2024 Epilator:

This is a corded epilator. As I do not travel frequently and as I have power points installed near my dressing table for my hair styler (my dad’s idea) I found no reason to buy the cord-less one which was costlier than this.

What Panasonic Claims:

Effective hair removal, even on short or fine hair.

Exchangeable epilating head for underarms and bikini-line.

Two speed selection with a soft mode enabling gentle whisking away of hairs suitable even for first time users anxious about pain.

Innovative skin protector, holds skin firmly as hair is whisked away. Eases stress on skin by preventing direct contact with tweezer-like disks. Easier on sensitive skin because it’s skin guard holds skin down as it extracts the hair from the root.

Includes soft carrying case and cleaning brush.

What the Panasonic ES2024 includes:

1 Soft travel case and cleaning brush.

1 Small epilation head for under arms and bikni area.

1 Large epilation head for arms and legs.

My experience with Panasonic Soie ES2024 Epilator:

When I first used it, I followed the following precautions that I read from the internet:

I made sure all the dirt and oil from my skin were removed as they tend make the process a little tough.

I made sure I did my epilation after my bath and after wiping my skin completely dry as it will open my pores and make the process less painful.

I made sure my hairs were short by razoring them a few days before epilation as epilator works better and is less painful on short hair.

I also made sure to have ice cubes nearby so that I could soothe my skin after epilation.

I made sure my skin is held tight by resting my feet/arm on the table.

Yes it did hurt initially as it works by pulling out the hairs from the roots akin to tweezing your brows. But, the pain was not “THAT” bad as I imagined it to be. It removed hair after hair and my legs were little red after my first epilation process. As instructed, I followed up by rubbing the ice cubes on my legs to ease out the pain. My legs and hands looked so pretty and God I was impressed.

After a couple of months, I got little experimental and tried epilating without the removable “SKIN GUARD” and found that it worked better that way. Though not advisable, I loved the whole process without the SKIN GUARD and feel that the SKIN GUARD hinders the process of getting the maximum hair epilated at a time.

Now let me put down the pros and cons.

Pros:

Silky Smooth Skin for almost 4 weeks.

The hair that grows back seems less obvious unlike shaving.

Makes the skin look brighter as it removes the hair from the roots.

The little brush that comes with it for cleaning the epilation head is very convenient.

Both the epilating heads seems to be fine.

The removable heads and the skin guard make the cleaning process easier.

Dual Speed settings.

Cheaper on a long run. They charge around 400 rupees for getting hands and feet waxed at a salon. You can buy this product if you invest the money you pay for around 5 sittings initially and use it for years.

The cord length is very comfortable. (Around 4-5 feet).

Very comfortable and handy design.

Comes with a cute bag where I can stuff all the epilator parts and keep them safe.

Comes with a warranty of one year.

Cons:

Hurts a little when used for the first time.

I find the 2nd Speed to be more effective than the 1st.

I feel that the Skin Guard provided is a hindrance and makes the whole process difficult.

This is a corded one.

Seems a little noisy.

This is a Dry Epilator and hence cannot be used against wet skin.

And Last but not the least, Epilators give raise to in-grown hairs as well. However by regular scrubbing you can keep them at bay.

Final Verdict:

It’s an obvious hit for me and I have become so used to the epilator that I hardly feel the pain anymore. It’s super convenient and hassle free. You need not book any more parlor appointments and you need not feel the scalding wax to flaunt super smooth skin. Highly Recommended.

Today I am going to review the much famed The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner. We are known about the fact that the Rainforest Range of The Body Shop shampoos & conditioners do not have any Silicons, Sulphates, Parabens & Colorants. Hence causing no damage to the hair and letting it grow healthy by clearing the silicon deposits that would have accumulated in the hair due to frequent usage of conditioners with silicons.

I had long wavy hair that came up to my waist when I joined college. As I was not maintaining it well, the ends became dry and started to split. As most of the wavy haired gals out there, I wanted and dreamt of having poker straight hair but remained very skeptical about subjecting my hair to chemical treatments. I cut my hair shorter and started using shampoos that said to make hair straight and silky. My hair, which was reacting very well to the shampoos & conditioners initially, became flat and limp. No matter what I did, my hair never became normal. I started longing for my old waves because I found that they looked much better than limp and flat hair.

After much brainstorming, I learnt from the blogosphere that the silicons found in shampoos and conditioners (which were behind that oh so silky initial look) had a tendency to get slowly accumulated or built up in the hair with regular use thus making the hair fall flat. If that was true, my hair looked as if it had a whole silicon mine in there. And, sulphates on the other hand had a very bad drying effect on the hair. I found that shampoos and conditioners that did not have any such harming chemicals were extremely hard to find in Indian market. One product that claimed to be free from sulphates and silicons was Himalaya Protein shampoo and conditioner. Unfortunately, this shampoo & conditioner caused a disastrous effect on my hair and made it look like a bird’s nest.

Recently I found about the range of shampoos in the Body Shop that was free from all such harmful chemicals. Pro – bloggers raved so much about the product that I decided to give it a try.

Since my hair was dry I decided to buy the Moisture shampoo. It is priced at Rs. 515/- for shampoo & conditioner each. It came in a no nonsense flip cap bottle of 250 ml. The shampoo comes in a sheer black bottle and the conditioner in opaque white bottle with flip caps. The shampoo has a whopping 4 year expiry period which makes me wonder about the preservative they add as its paraben free.

I was praying all Gods to make this shampoo work for my hair because it is the most costly shampoo I have ever purchased. If it worked then I would be admiring my hair leaving no time to worry about the money spent. And, at the same time, if it failed, I would keep feeling upset till I get a shampoo that really worked.

My Experience:

The shampoo comes as a runny transparent liquid with woody but pleasant fragrance. The fragrance lingers mildly on hair for few hours. The Conditioner is a thick but not as thick as dove conditioner and is white in color.

The shampoo does not lather as well as other shampoos. Given the fact that it does not contain sulphates I did not expect it to lather well. But, for the mild lather it forms, it surprisingly clears off all the dirt and oil in the hair. I did not get the slippery “I have applied conditioner in my hair” feeling much when I applied the conditioner. I let it stay for 5 mins before rinsing off. Both the shampoo & the conditioner get completely rinsed off and I love this. When I use other drug store conditioners, I find washing the conditioner part little annoying. I had no qualms in this aspect with this conditioner.

My hair, on the first wash felt so wavy and a little difficult to tame as all the silicon deposits were washed off. On the second use, I found my hair really manageable, smooth and I felt my hair returning to its original form. It did not fall flat and I felt wonderful. My hair being extremely dry did not become oh-so-soft but it remained manageable.

Now, Summing up its pro’s & Con’s:

Pro’s:

No Sulphates, No Silicons, No Parabens.

Nice packing. The flip cap is really good.

Clears dirt and oil in the hair easily.

My hair got back to its original wavy form.

Conditioner washes off well.

Both the shampoo & conditioner have a really good fragrance that’s not over whelming.

Does not dry out hair like how some “natural” shampoos do.

Con’s:

Price. Its Rs. 515/- for 250 ml.! As it does what it claims I am okay with it.

Unlike the shampoo bottle, the conditioner bottle is opaque. As I feel I spend more conditioner than the shampoo, I feel that a sheer bottle would be more convenient.

Does not result in oh-so-smooth and silky hair. If you are looking for super smooth and silky hair, this product is definitely not for you.

So far I am happy with this shampoo & conditioner duo and looking forward to use it till I get a better one. I have put a picture of my hair after the second wash below.

I am so happy to see my old waves. I missed them so much. Highly recommend this to all the girls out there who wants to see their over conditioned limp hair in its old natural glory.

This post is going to be about how to create an effortless office style for people who wear only Indian dresses like sarees, salwar kameeze, kurthis and chudidhars. The reason for taking up this topic is that I feel, I look better only in Indian wears. I am not at all comfortable in western outfits. I am a fair girl (yellow undertones) with typical Indian looks that looks extremely pretty in Indian outfits. In western outfits, I look as though I am trying too hard to look at ease. So I simply tend to avoid them.

When I started to go for job, I used to wear any salwars that were there in my wardrobe. I will accessorize it with beads, chains, handbags and what not that somewhat match the outfit. It looked good until one day my dad remarked that I looked way too casual for office. This comment from my darling dad was an eye opener for me and from that moment, I started paying attention to how I dress.

I tried to draw inspirations from the people I see around me. Like, Trisha from VTV, Hina Rabbani Kaur, Pakistani Minister and most of all from my own mother.

In all the people I mentioned, one common tip I noticed is, keeping the accessories simple but elegant and playing with the color and pattern of your outfit. I loved the way it created a classy appeal.

Sarees:

If you are a woman who opts for sarees, the following tips could be useful:

Avoid dramatic prints.

Use subtle colors and in case you wanted to wear bright shades, stick to sarees that are not heavy with designs.

Gardens, silks, silk cottons are the best.

Always pleat your pallu. Do not leave it single. It tends to give a casual feel to the entire outfit.

You can opt for banarasi silk blouse with plain cotton or patch work saree. It gives a very sophisticated look.

Speaking of blouse, do not go for dramatic back necks etc. Keep your neck lines high. You don’t want any unnecessary attention.

Wear proper and color coordinated inner garments.

Make sure your hips are not visible. You can pin them initially and once you get the hang of it, you can pull the saree in such a way that your hips are not visible. If you are new to draping sarees in such fashion, you can always increase your blouse length so that you need not worry about this.

If you are opting for pure cotton, make sure it is starched and stiff.

Most important, iron your sarees properly and in fold in its length.

An example of the above, uniform of Taj Hotel employee:

source: sareedreams.com

Salwar Kameeze & Kurthis:

If you are a full figured woman, please avoid pairing kurthis with leggings. In case you want to wear them, always wear kurthis that do not have any side cuts.

Cottons are best suited for office wear however you can also add up other materials.

Do not wear heavy umbrella cuts, anarkalis etc unless you are attending an office party.

The salwars should fit properly. It should neither be loose nor tight.

You need to keep an eye on your sleeves and neck line as well.

Three forth or full Sleeves are apt.

Always iron your kuthis. And avoid Dhothi pants.

source: indicana.com

Hair Tips:

Pay attention to your hair. Don’t let it fall loose. Especially on your face. It tends to distract the person to whom we are speaking to.

Effortless hair styles work the best. If you have really long hair, best keep it in a pony tail or wear a braid. I do not advise on wearing a bun or for that matter wearing a braid all the time because, in the long run, they result in hair loss.

Make sure the hair styles you choose do not result in you touching your hair every five minutes. Trust me ladies, It’s really annoying.

Foot wear and Accessories:

source: hidesign.com

Invest in good pair of shoes/sandals in basic colors like black and beige. Get bags to match your shoes.

Heels should be of modest length. What I mean by “modest” is that, it should not attract attention at work.

Covered toes work best for office. Apart from giving a formal feel, they also help in keeping tan lines at bay.

Invest in good jewelry. Thin Gold chain with a simple earrings suit the best.

source: dealsupto.com

Makeup:

Makeup for offices can be very challenging. I bought this foundation that claimed to keep my face photo-perfect. I wore it in the morning. It looked really nice and I went to office with it. Lo behold! Under my cabin’s lighting, my face glowed with a weird luminescence. It was so embarrassing especially when you like that in a normal work day. It drew all unwanted attention. Like I said earlier, work office make up should not be so obvious. You want the people around you to pay attention to your work than to the way you have done your face.

Invest in good concealer, good applicator and setting powder. Learn the art of concealing only the problem areas. There are loads of you tube videos in it.

Good eyeliner, mascara and lipstick are a must.

You must carry a mini make up kit in your bag. It gets handy when you need to wash your face at office.

Most importantly, make sure your morning makeup regime is simple. You must be able to recreate it, if need arises in your cabin or in the wash room. I use moisturizer, concealer and setting powder for face and eyeliner for eyes.

Do not get upset if some one comments about your “conservative” style. Its nothing bad to feel comfortable in your Indian outfits. And there are places to showcase your not so conservative outfits and office is definitely not one of them unless you work for a modeling agency.

And most importantly, Drink Loads of water and keep smiling.

Hope I have covered all the tips. If I have left out some important tip, do let me know. J J